This article originally appeared on April 28, 2008

The Boston Celtics marched through the regular season with an NBA best 66 regular season wins.  

After beating the Atlanta Hawks by an average of 21 points in Game?s 1 and 2, most people had them penciled in for their first NBA Finals appearance since 1987.

But the Hawks aren?t going away without a fight.

After shooting 38 percent in the first two games of the series, Atlanta has shot 47 percent in the last two games.

How have they managed to get back into the series?  By playing fast and quick perimeter oriented basketball and getting down the floor before the Celtics can set up their defense.

Boston led the league in nearly every defensive category this season.  The Celtics allowed the second fewest point per game (90.29) and did so by holding their opponents to a league best 42% from the field.

Orchestrated by one of the finest defensive coaches in the NBA (Tom Thibodeau) and centered around Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett, Boston?s defense is predicated on helpside rotation, effort, and intensity.  

Led by Joe Johnson and Josh Smith, the Hawks have won the last two games to even up the series at two games a piece.

Johnson and Smith have combined for 95 points in the last two contests after totaling only 49 in the first two contests.  The talented twosome scored every basket for Atlanta (32 points) in the 4th quarter of Game 4.

Has their success been an aberration or have they uncovered a weakness within the mighty Boston defense?

With a possible matchup with LeBron James on the horizon, Boston had better hope it?s the former.

James led the league in scoring this season by averaging 30 points per game.  LeBron also led in 4th quarter scoring (9.1 pts) and the Cavs led with the most 4th quarter comebacks (17).

Remember LeBron?s Game 5 performance against Detroit in last year?s playoffs?  The one in which he scored 29 of Cleveland?s final 30 point in an overtime victory.
James is more than capable of duplicating that performance again.  

He has the ability to make Smith and Johnson?s 4th quarter takeover in Game 4 a pleasant memory and give Coach Doc Rivers nightmares over the course of 7 games.

The Celtics and Cavaliers met three times in the regular season, with both LeBron and Garnett missing one of those games to injury.  James averaged 36 points in the two contests he played in, both Cavalier victories.

Boston may be the best defensive team in the NBA this season but Detroit and San Antonio were upper-echelon defensive teams last season.  

LeBron averaged 26 points and shot 45% from the field versus Detroit in the Western Conference Finals.  He was held to 22 points and 36% from the field versus the Spurs in the NBA Finals.

The difference between LeBron?s output versus Detroit and San Antonio was Bruce Bowen and Tim Duncan.  Bowen harassed him on the perimeter and Duncan challenged his forays into the paint.

The Celtics don?t have the luxury of an All-NBA perimeter defender.  But they do have Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett.

If Kevin Garnett is to win his first NBA championship, he'll have to use his length and versatility to stop the heir to the throne.

KG doesn?t have the lateral quickness to crowd LeBron but he can afford to play a step off since LeBron will not beat the Celtics with his outside shooting.

Boston can win the next two games versus Atlanta but the damage has been done -- Joe Johnson and Josh Smith have exposed chinks in the mighty Celtics armor -- chinks that King James is capable of ripping wide open.

Before their first round series with the Hawks, the Celtics looked like would march right through the Eastern Conference but there can only be one.

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